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L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 4 my own professional future, my mind immediately tried to find a solution for the kids of my pro- gram "Caterina's Club – Feeding the Children". The Bishop of Orange County, Kevin Vann, helped me a lot by giving me access to their church's kitchen and allowing me to continuing proving my daily humanitarian service. Then, I wanted to help all my employees and I asked all the local restaurants to hire my crew in order to help their fami- lies. And then, I began thinking about me and I contacted the insurance company that, after the due inquiries, stated it was an accident caused by an electrical malfunction in the dining area. We know that you're cur- rently developing several humanitarian programs, can you tell us about that? Well, all my programs were created under the "Caterina's Club" umbrella, as a sign of love and devotion to the memory of my amazing, beloved mother. The first one is – as I said before – "Feeding the Children" with which I am now able to provide food to over 25.000 children every week. Then there's "Wel- come Home," that relocates fami- lies living in the motel, even if both parents have full time jobs simply because they can't afford the first and last month rent, as well as a security deposit: we pay for that, in order to give the fami- ly the chance to live in more decent conditions. The newest one is called "Hospitality Acade- my" and it's done in partnership with Anaheim Union's P21 Men- torship program, to provide at- risk teenagers with a nine-week program that teaches content and skills not taught in the traditional school day: basically I want them to learn all aspects of the restau- rant and hotel industry including cuisine, nutrition, restaurant ser- vice, marketing, administration, and financial literacy. Our readers are surely won- dering how many VIPs and celebrities have been your cus- tomers through the years? The celebrity that holds a very special an unique place in my heart is undoubtedly Sofia Loren: when my restaurant was destroyed by the fire, she was one of the first calling me and telling me how much she loved my work. That simple thing gave me the strength and the courage to move forward. I am also extremely proud to have had a couple of presidents: Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush. I could also mention Andrea Bocelli and Madonna, in the music industry. But when the amazing Worldwide awarded soccer player Roberto Baggio showed up, I was truly excited! We became friends and he also wrote the introduction to one of my books. I am so proud of him because he's a very kind and old- fashioned gentleman. Would you share with us a couple of recipes you added to your restaurant's menu after it reopened? You know, I do love to exper- iment, combining and merging Italian traditional recipes with some new and modern flavors! I have recently added a stuffed quail with polenta placed on a bed of Pearà, a traditional Veronese sauce made with bread crumbs, beef and hen stock, beef marrow and black pepper. Then, I introduced a new fresh salmon carpaccio seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, capers and a little bit of red pepper. But one of my most successful new recipeS is a veal escalope, covered with bur- rata and cured ham. It really looks like you're a truly accomplished man, who reached so many important goals: so what's up next? What's Bruno Serato's dream now? I only have one dream left: when my working day is over I want to know that no children has to suffer from famine and poverty, that there's no more starvation and that every child in the world won't suffer from hunger anymore. That's all I want and all I dream of. Serato poses with one of the children he helps through his charity, Caterina's Club—Feeding the Children. Ph courtesy of Bruno Serato Serato meets Pope Francis, in Rome. Ph courtesy of Bruno Serato